Safety razor



Aug. 4, 1925. 1,548,471

' G. KEPKA SAFETY RAZOR Filed Feb. 13, 22

INVENTOR A TTORN E Y Patented Aug. 2, 1925.

UNITED STATES GEORGE KEPKA, OF WILKESON, WASHINGTON.

SAFETY RAZOR.

Application filed February 13, 1922. Serial No. 536,198.

To all whom. it may concern: Be it known that I, GEORGE KEPKA, a citizen ,of the. United States, and a resident of \Vilkeson, in the county of Pierce, State of ashin ton have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Razors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety razors and has for its object to provide such a razor in which the blade is shaped so that it can be kept sharp by stropping. Further objects are to provide a holder for such a blade which is simple and positive in its action, which holdsthe blade firmly in place, and which is readily opened to remove the blade or to clean the holder.

T attain these and other-objects by. the devices and arrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved safety razor ready for use;

Fig, 2 is a rear elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the holder, showing it open andready to receive the blade;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 5 is a plan of the blade;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation thereof on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 7 is a section of the razor, with the blade in place, on an enlarged scale.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

()ne of the great objections to the safety razor as usually made is found in the fact that the very thin blades quickly lose their sharpened edge and that it is diflicult to restore their sharpness. Further, it is necessary, on account of the above fact, to always keep a supply of extra blades on hand in order tolsubstitute a new, or a newly sharpened, one for the blade in use. This entails a continual expense as compared with the older non-safety razor. In order to overcome these disadvantages, while retaining the safety feature, I have devised the following described razor blade and holder.

Referring first to the razor blade, and particularly to Figs. 5 and 6, of the drawing, it will be seen that the blade 1 has a thick back portion 2 and a sharp cutting edge 3, with concave sides 4 and 5; also, the back 2 has two lugs 6 extending beyond the ends of the blade 1 and forming shoulders adapt ed to engage suitable lugs on the holder,

to the base 9 (Fig. 7

as hereinafter described, whereby the position of the blade in the holder is governed so that its cutting edge 3 is held parallel with the front of the holder. It will thus be seen that the cross-sectional shape of the blade is substantiall that of an ordinary non-safety razor an that, with a suitable handle (not shown) it can be sharpened exactly as can such non-safety razor.

The holder is provided with a handle 7, of suitable size and shape, which is fastened plate 8 thereof. This base plate 8 is provided With an indented front edge 9 as usual in safety-razors; an upward pressed ridge 10 near said edge 9; and a downward bent rear part 11. This part 11 lies almost at right angles to the main part 8 to which the handle 7 is attached. Two lugs 12 ex tend upward from each side edge of the plate 8, such lugs being equally spaced from the front edge 9 and being adapted to engage the above-mentioned shoulders 6 of the blade 1. The ridge 10 is adapted to engage the side 5 of the blade, near the cutting edge 3, so as to hold the said cutting edge slightly out of contact with the teeth of the edge A cover plate 13 is secured to the end of the part 11 of the main plate 8 by means of a suitable hinge 14, in such manner that it is free to turn upward and rearward from the plate 8 (Fig. 3). This plate 13 has a portion 15 bent downward therefrom, and making an acute angle therewith, such parts being proportioned and shaped so that when the blade 1 is in place on the plate 8, the part 15 will engage the back 2 of the blade, and also the side 4 thereof at a point slightly in advance of the above described ridge l0 and slightly to the rear of the cutting edge 3. The front portion of said part 15 is made thin and is the part of the razor which comes in direct contact with the skin. A flat spring 16 is secured to the under side of the plate 13 in such position that, when the plate 13 v1s closed down on the razor blade, the ends of said spring will engage the back 2 of the blade and will force it forward to insure firm contact between the pairs of shoulders 6 and 12, thus forcing the blade 1 into proper cutting position. A clamp screw 17 passes freely through the plate 13 and screws lnto and through the part 11. It is preferably provided with a shoulder 18 which engages the outside of the plate 13. This screw clamps the two parts of the holder on to the blade to hold it firmly in place. When the screw is removed from contact with the part 11 then the part 13 may be freely swung back (Fig. 3 and the blade 1 may be removed.

Having described my invention, claim is: V

1. A safety razor comprising a holding means; a pair of lugs in the sides of said holding means; a blade mounted in said holding means between said lugs and having a cutting front edge and a thickened back edge; two lugs extending laterally from the ends of the back edge of said blade and engaging said lugs on the holding means to limit the forward position of the blade in said holding means; a screw engaging the holding means to move one part relatively to another part and acting parallel with the blade; and a spring interposed between said holding means and the rear of said blade and acting parallel with the screw and the what I blade to press the blade forward in said holding means to bring said two pairs of lugs into complementary engagement.

2. A safety razor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said holding means comprises two plates, each formed with a main razorclamping portion between which the razor is held and each having a rear, extension turned down from the main portion at sub stantially right angles thereto, together with a pivot means engaging the lower ends of said downturned extensions to form a hinge between said plates; and wherein said screw passes through one of said downturned extensions above the said hinge and is screwed into the other downturned extension whereby said extensions are drawn towards each other to clamp the blade between the two main portions of the holding means and whereby the spring is pressed against the rear of said blade.

GEORGE KEPKA. 

